Marlene Condon Albemarle County
Published: March 3, 2009, Daily Progress

The folks trying to stop the roadway through McIntire Park deserve an enormous amount of praise (“County begins clearing land for parkway,” The Daily Progress, Feb. 17). There are not many cities that can boast such a large green space within their confines.

According to the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Center Web site, McIntire Park “continues to be one of the most popular parks in the City … [featuring] rolling land with magnificent views of the mountains to the east, a heavily wooded area with steep and varied topography and winding streams.” 
It’s truly a shame that city government is sacrificing one of its few remaining tracts of undeveloped land, especially when this will not solve the problem of overdevelopment in Albemarle County.

Because people threaten to sue if their so-called property rights are restricted in the name of sensible development (i.e., development that comes only after sufficient infrastructure is in place), government appeases them to avoid court battles. In the end, we all suffer the congestion caused by too much traffic on inadequate roadways, but impacting McIntire Park — an irreplaceable gem — is not the answer.
Property-rights advocates and government officials tend to see undeveloped land as wasted real estate of no value. But no price tag can even represent McIntire’s worth to those who love the outdoors. (In fact, putting a YMCA there — where people will be coming to a park only to stay indoors — is a totally inane use of green space.)

And don’t believe that drivers are going to cruise slowly along this road. I give talks in Shenandoah National Park every summer, and anyone driving the 35 mph speed limit is promptly passed. The Skyline Drive is treated by most folks as their personal superhighway.
Paul Goodloe McIntire willed this property with the understanding that it would be held and “used in perpetuity [emphasis mine] as a public park and playground for the … people of the City of Charlottesville.” Sadly, his benevolent and honorable intentions are about to be bulldozed.